A unique relationship with a county official results in extra buses for a black school

The bus routes for Unity School were wide-ranging, collecting black students from across the area. Campbell formed a positive relationship with a county official, who provided him with new buses to endure the unique strain of the long route, a rarity for a black school.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Leroy Campbell, January 4, 1991. Interview M-0007. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#40007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

LEROY CAMPBELL:

I always say that I am the expert in the world, my buses touched seven
counties, Rowan, Davie, Yadkin, Wilkes, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, maybe it
is just six but…

GOLDIE F. WELLS:

I think Iredell County touches more counties in the State than any other
counties. I think it is seven too. It touches so many other
counties.

LEROY CAMPBELL:

My buses went to every nitch in there because it was the only Black high
school in the county. There was a Black high school in Statesville and
one in Mooresville but Iredell County is more than forty miles from
north to south. We were lucky with that where we almost had no accidents
and several years we would lose only one or two bus drivers for speeding
and that was if you got a speeding ticket even off the bus you would
still lose your license. We were fortunate enough to get a State
citation on transportation. It was a result of the county supervisor of
transportation. I didn't know I was ignorant that it
wasn't going to work right. It was working right and I
thought that was right and he said no, it doesn't work right.
He came to me and said you know this needs to be on the record there has
only been one new bus assigned to the Black school in the history of
this county. He told me that. You are brand new and I'm going
to pretend that I am new, every year you'll get your quota of
new buses or more as long as I am supervisor and I did. My routes were
longer than anyone else. But I had second-hand buses. We had excellent
transportation supervisors even the person who succeeded him was an
excellent supervisor.